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FILAKIA FROM THE ELPIDA RESORT - MY EXTENDED BIRTHDAY TREAT!

8/17/2011

Filakia from the Elpida Resort ~ (kisses from the Elpida Resort) 17 August 2011

Just a quick update, following my last two posts on the subject of the surprise my husband sprang on me for my b-day!

My birthday treat is a total success, I can guarantee that much...!

Hubs was absolutely right when he said that I needed to wind down for a few days, recharge the batteries and just do sweet nothing... Well, believe me, I've been doing a lot of sweet nothing these last three days!

Thoroughly enjoying the stay ~ it's extremely relaxing and because it's the height of the tourist season we've been lucky in that the hotel was quite empty; I know, this probably sounds strange, but it's true. Being situated inland, some 70km from the seaside, people have been gravitating toward to beaches rather than sitting on a cool terrace in the hills! Understandably so...

My better half, however, knew very well that the last thing on my mind would be masses of semi-naked bodies on sandy beaches, noisy children (no matter how much I love 'em!) or local traffic that prevents you from making any progress, so he wisely chose a haven of peace and tranquility to get my mental balance sorted!

One fly in the ointment: the spa and beauty center are closed too until next week... :(
Mmm...perhaps that could be the perfect excuse for another short break in the not too distant future, I wonder...??
I wouldn't mind, I can assure you!

Before heading out to have a drink with some friends, let me share some of the snapshots I took ~ hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed being here!

Thanks for visiting!
Would love to read your comments...!

With happy, relaxed smiles from the Elpida Spa Resort...

Emm :))
(PS: if you click in the LEFT TOP corner of the first picture you can opt to play the pics in a loop!)

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BIRTHDAY SURPRISE...

8/15/2011

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So here I am, another year older and none the wiser...
Well ~ that's a little bit of a fib...

What a journey it has been, this last year!
It's been mainly a journey of discovery ~ a true virtual adventure, meeting people all over the world and making new friends - all in cyberspace. Learning about things I had never envisaged in my wildest dreams I would ever become involved in.
Looking upon my world with renewed interest, with new "eyes" and realising that the future holds so much more yet to be uncovered...

The last year has been a year of searching and finding, then taking on new routes, new directions, a new lease of life!
I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead...

Today, though, is not about the future... today is about now, about me and my better half, or should I perhaps have said my better half and me? More specifically about the surprise he'd organised for my birthday today, knowing that I'd had a pretty intense period of hard work, long days, long nights and little respite behind me, and more of the same ahead of me...

I promised I'd resurface sometime today and share with you what he'd had in store...
So, here I am, sharing...

Greetings from our hideout for the day...just click, visit the site, walk in... head for the pool area and grab that lounger next to us... we're happy to welcome you with a cool drink and a table full of mezedes!

Boy, am I enjoying this special treat!

With happy, contented smiles from the Elpida Spa Resort....

yours,

Emm :-)
PS:
Here is a slideshow of the few of the pics I took during the day we've spent here so far...
We were lucky too, in that we witnessed an engagement party that had been organised for the evening...
Unfortunately my night-photograpy abilities still leave a bit to be desired... :-(
Anyways... Enjoy! There will be more to come, since this is a SPA hotel...!!
Emm xx

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THE CLEAN-UP BEGINS, or the Power of People joined by Social Media With a Sting at the End

8/9/2011

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downloaded press images of the clean-up after the riots in Britain - 10 Aug 2011

There are few things more heartwarming and reassuring than seeing communities rally together to start the clean-up in an effort to restore normality and order in areas that resemble Second World War bombsites following the violent events that are shaking Britain -and the world- to the core. But that is exactly what has been happening....

+++ quote +++

Residents in London and beyond have pledged to reclaim streets vandalised by rioters by organising spot clean-up squads.

Within hours of the unrest escalating, numerous Facebook groups had been set up and local people were arranging to meet using the Twitter hash tag #riotcleanup.

"Clean up starting in an hour. About 200 odd people with broom and marigolds ready to take our town back! Come down!" was among typical postings made on social media.

A special website set up to help co-ordinate the efforts has crashed after being overwhelmed by visitors.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people living in affected boroughs have called their local councils, asking to help with the clear-up.

Croydon Council told Sky News that more than 500 people had rung this morning to offer their assistance, and Hackney Council reported similar support.

Both councils say their clean-up efforts are under control, having begun in the early hours of this morning.

But they are taking names and contact numbers of volunteers in case they are needed later.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said it was "great to see the community coming together" following the unrest that has seen dozens of local businesses damaged.

+++ unquote +++

In the aftermath of these traumatic events, many legal aspects relating to the subsequent "treatment" of the culprits will have to come under close scrutinity and will no doubt be the subject of further controversy. However, for the time being it is with a huge sigh of relief that I see that the last vestiges of human decency have not yet been completely pulled down and that there are decent, caring people out there who take the meaning of "being part of a community" very serious indeed... and ACT accordingly.

Heartwarming, to say the least!

Whilst there are numerous issues related to these events boiling close to the surface that must be dealt with at some point sooner rather than later, I have chosen to concentrate on the positive attitude and response of those people who have reacted with written comments to news flashes, and am offering you here a brief selection to highlight the importance of pulling together for the benefit of a community... a lesson we could all learn from. These comments are straight copy/pastes without attention being paid to any grammar or syntax issues, nor should they be taken out of context as a means of putting an adverse slant in reporting about these events. As I said, many issues will require in-depth analysis and perhaps a change of policies and laws before being satisfactorily solved. The comments do NOT reflect my personal position on things and should not be seen in that light. They do however, highlight some of the issues at stake here...

+++ quote +++

...This is what people are about all pulling together. Good luck to everybody that is helping out. You are the hero's.Don't let the yobs destroy you areas stand up to them on mass together you are stronger than these spineless yobs...

... WELL DONE! to the people who are volunteering to help with the clean up.Thank goodness there are decent people amongst those thugs and vandals that are destroying your area and property. I do admire you. My thoughts are with you. Good Luck!...

...If this is the start of taking back your town I wish you all the good fortune and luck possable. What starts with brushes and bin bags can bring a community together...

...Somebody likened the burning buildings to the wartime Blitz. It's true ..... and the wonderful response from the residents is also just like the spirit of the Blitz...

...This is what the true brit is about rallying round in times of crisis. Let this be a lesson to the SCUM who caused all this...

...the police have done a cracking job against appalling odds but its now time for us the honest ordinary folk to take back our towns and cities and we must be given the power to defend ourselves and our properties without us being in the firing line. there has been a major change in the way people behave and we are witnessing complete lawlessness which must be combatted no matter what it takes. if people have to be locked up for years in damp dingy prisons for this so be it.we cannot continue like this...

...Home now after a long day on the brooms. If I need to, I'll do it again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that...

...Councils and residents use social media to organise a mass clean-up and support for businesses affected by rioting across London...

+++ unquote +++

I sign off for today in the hope that not only will the good people of Britain rally together to help put things back in order, but that these events will prompt the world to take notice and start looking into ways in which we can promote social happiness rather than social unrest...

With a reluctant smile and hope for a brighter future

Emm :}

PS: I had only just written and posted this blog when I came across this You Tube clip that virtually destroyed my positive approach to these events...
Lord, what have some of us come to...It's simply beyond words...

Emm :((

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RIOTS, RIOTS AND MORE BLOODY RIOTS! (*with note at end)

8/9/2011

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The riots in panorama from downloaded media shots - Britain 7-9 August 2011

I am appalled ~ but more so, deeply saddened ~ by the latest developments on Britain's streets.

What started as a spark has grown totally out of hand and people all over the world look on and can only shake their heads in disbelief.

I'm quoting the BBC's news headlines on these atrocious and shocking events:

+++Quote+++
Rioting has spread across London on a third night of violence, with unrest flaring in other English cities.

An extra 1,700 police officers were deployed in London, where shops were looted and buildings were set alight.
Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol also saw violence.

The prime minister has returned early from his holiday to discuss the unrest, which first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham over the fatal shooting of a man by police.

At least 400 people have been arrested following a wave of "copycat criminal activity" across London over the past three days, the Met Police said. More than 69 people have been charged with various offences.

Three people are being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder after a police officer was injured by a car in Wembley, north-west London, while trying to stop suspected looters.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Steven Kavanagh said it was a "shocking and appalling morning for London to wake up to".
"The Met was stretched beyond belief in a way that it has never experienced before," he told BBC Breakfast.

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin ruled out bringing in the Army to help police tackle the violence, but said: "We will be out there in ever greater numbers tonight."

On Twitter, Scotland Yard said: "In the next 24 hours there will be 13,000 police officers on duty in London."
...
+++Unquote+++

What is happening in our world?
Why is there so much violence bubbling up everywhere?
What has gone wrong ... where have WE gone wrong?
Have we not had enough wars and conflicts, enough killing and bloodshed to last us a lifetime?
Has man not learned anything?

Obviously not...

Yet the answer could be quite simple:

An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there's a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It's anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, ego. The other is Good. It's joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, truth." The grandson thought about it and asks his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

STOP FEEDING THE EVIL WOLF !!

Which wolf will You feed? - Fractal reproduced with kind permission of Delf Lepidosiren, Aug 9, 2011

Note: since writing this post, I was made aware of the following clip that appeared on YouTube, which clearly shows that we should not tar everyone with the same brush... there are people out there who would do anything to make things undone and are just simple and decent caring folk...
My belief in humanity has not been totally destroyed...

Emm :-}

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LOVE IN

8/6/2011

4 Comments

A quickie today!
I just have to share this...

At four o'clock this afternoon I received a very strange email.
It simply read:

How do you fancy a love in?
You can be Yoko.

It was from my husband
I'd better explain.

Hubs has been away in Thessaloniki for the past week or so at Son-Number-One's former apartment, Son-Number-One now having moved to Athens.

Hubs is spending much needed solitude deeply engrossed in his writings and hates distractions---or so I thought.

My first thought to surface from among the jumble was, o.k. it's Saturday, Hubs has strolled along the promenade to one of the tavernas, had some lunch and perhaps a drop too much Malamatina.(Malamatina, by the way, is a local retsina, my husband's favourite).

So, I telephoned.

"Yup"
That's how my husband answers the phone.
"Are you alright?"
"Couldn't be better, why?"
"Well, you've just sent me a rather strange email"
"What's strange about it"
"Well it said "Do you fancy a Love in?"
"And?"
I hesitated
"Well do you?
I burst out laughing.

To those of you who don't know me too well I'd better explain that we've been very happily married for the past 31yrs, have two grown up sons and my husband is midway between 73 and 74.
Extremely fit but still 73.

So, to be asked at this stage of your life if you fancy a Love In is perhaps a little bit out of the ordinary. Wonderful, but still out of the ordinary!

He was speaking again.
"Listen, I've been thinking. It's your birthday on the 15th ~ so how about we do something a little different for a few days. What do you think?"
"Err, like what?"
"Surprise, yes or no"
"Well, yes."
"O.K., if you can be here with the car for about 11.30 next Sunday morning that should be fine.
Talk to you later, must get on while the thoughts are in the head. Tata!"

And so, I appear to be in for a bit of a surprise.
I don't know where I'm going or for how long but I promise - yes, I promise - sometime on Monday 15th I'll surface and let you know!

Happy smiles,
Emm :))

PS: go on... enjoy this "oldie"...

4 Comments

FILAKIA FROM THE ELPIDA RESORT - MY EXTENDED BIRTHDAY TREAT!

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE...

THE CLEAN-UP BEGINS, or the Power of People joined by Social Media With a Sting at the End

RIOTS, RIOTS AND MORE BLOODY RIOTS! (*with note at end)

LOVE IN

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